The state’s Department of Community Affairs has given Trenton Mayor Eric Jackson an advantage over his predecessor with the ability to choose candidates who live beyond the city’s borders to be part of his team.

The surprising latitude was delivered with a memorandum of understanding between the city and the DCA that Jackson signed shortly after taking office.

Most notable as the document spelling out terms for the delivery of millions in state aid, the latest memorandum requires the city to amend local ordinances to “remove any condition of residency on employment with the city” for positions that require the advice and consent of council, The Times’ Jenna Pizzi reported last week.
Such positions include department directors and other high-level jobs.

Waiving the residency requirement, which has been in effect since the late ‘60s but subject to exemptions, is not ideal. The city would be best served by those as invested in the community as they are in their employment.

And, understandably, there is resistance among city council members to allowing this policy exception.

But the DCA has been involved in the review of applicants for cabinet-level posts for years. It’s found the residency rule has severely restricted the city’s access to the kind of managers Trenton desperately needs.

If state officials believe it’s necessary to go further afield to secure qualified candidates for the important work that awaits, city council should defer to that assessment.

With lessons fresh from the porous Mack administration — and the revolving door in City Hall that admitted various shady and incompetent administrators, then whisked them out again — it’s clear Trenton needs ability and stability.

Hiring the best and the brightest would fulfill both requirements — first, by establishing a consistent level of professionalism and, secondly, by helping train younger department members who live in the city to eventually take over those executive positions.

It’s imperative that qualified and experienced Trenton candidates should take precedence over other applicants, and Jackson says he will consider them first wherever possible. The mayor also says he will encourage any new high-level hires who live outside the city to relocate.

But as Trenton endeavors to regain its footing, the mayor needs the most capable and competent help to help him lead the city beyond the morass of the past.

The best hope for the city lies in hiring the best candidate for the job, regardless of residency.